© University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences ‘ang ane Library aed Information Science Programs ‘sane Letter of Recommendation for Darcy Mautino We are pleased to recommend Darcy Mautino for a position as a school librarian in the North Allegheny School District. Ms. Mautino will complete all requirements for the School Library Certification Program (SLCP) and the Master of Library and Information Science degree on December 18, 2016, and will receive her Instructional | teaching certificate in Library Science, K-12, from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, She will be well qualified to serve as a school librarian with her academic degrees and her Instructional | teaching certificate. The MLIS degree program at the University of Pittsbu'gh is accredited by the American Library Association; and, in the 2009 rankings of programs by U.S. News & World Report, the program is ranked as one of the top ten programs in the nation. The School Library Certification Program is approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and was commended by the PDE for the excellence of its educational experiences. The SLCP curriculum is competency-based and includes rigorous specialized coursework and a term-long practicum experience ina school library under the direction of a cooperating teacher librarian. Ms. Mautino was a very successful student in this academically and technologically demanding program, which has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as number 8 in the U.S Ms. Mautino came to the MLIS program with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Rhetoric from the University of Fittsburgh. As an undergraduate, she served on the Golden Girls Majorette Squad of the University of Pittsburgh Marching Band, where she served as section leader for two years and received a scholarship from the Pitt Band Alumni Council. She was elected to Lambda Pi Eta, the ‘communications honor society. After graduation, Ms. Mautino worked as a Recruiter and Human Resources Manager for the AFLAC Regional Office in Wexford.While a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh, Ms. Mautino ‘was selected for two highly competitive Pitt Pertners Program internships: one as the Teen Program Coordinator at the Crafton Public Library where she created imaginative programs for tweens and teens and the second at the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School at the University of Pittsburgh. In both positions she worked closely with younger children, tweens, and young teens, as well as parents and ‘teachers. Asa student in the MLIS Program, Ms. Mautino excelled in all of her coursework; her written and oral projects always exceeded the expectations of her instructors. Each project was completed with the highest level of professionalism. She served as a leader of her peer students on the basis of her initiative, her sense of responsibility, her high standards of excellence, her well-developed technology skilis and her abilty to complete tasks by the deadline. She often set the bar for quality and creativity. All this in addition to being a positive, enthusiastic and energetic person with whom instructors and students, alike enjoyed working, Ms. Mautino is successfully completing her sixty-day Practicum experience at Jefferson Middle Schoo! in the Mount Lebanon School District under the mentorship of librarian Susan Anstandig. During her Practicum experience, Ms. Mautino has excelled at collaboration with ‘teachers across subject areas. She has planned with teachers to ‘teach information literacy lessons correlated to the curriculum. She has reached out to teachers and made them welcome in the library. Ms. Mautino has set high standards for her students and has differentiated her instruction to engage all students, regardless of achievement, to do their best. She has been able to identify the unique characteristics of each student and plan learning experiences to build on these characteristics. She communicates enthusasm for reading and for the library, and her enthusiasm is reciprocated by the students. She relates well to students and behaves in a professional manner in her interactions. Her lesson plans have been creative and engaging ‘to the students, who appreciate her energy and innovative approaches with technology.‘We observed Ms. Mautino teach an information literacy lesson to sixth- grade students in the Academic Lab class that focused on effective advanced search strategies to locate and evaluate websites. She incorporate¢ authentic examples that the students knew and understood as part of an educational game she developed. All the students were fully engaged and participated enthusiastically Ms. Mautino has partnered with teachers in helping students lea. She is enthusiastic, energetic and optimistic in her personality and absolutely top notch in her skills in integrating technology, especially appropriate apps, into the teaching/leamning process. She has a deep knowledge of literature for children and young people. Her ability to relate to and teach diverse students is commendable. She steps forward and volunteers, and she loves to learn new things, making both teachers and students enjoy working with her, She is a”go-to" person, especially for technology. We believe Ms. Mautino is well prepared to manage a school library and to collaborate effectively with teachers in helping students learn. We believe that all of these behaviors will make her a very effective member of the teaching team. She will be an active participant in the life of the school and make contributions in extracurricular activities as well. We recommend Ms. Mautino wholeheartedly for a school library Position because she will serve as an outstanding member of the teaching-leaming team and rally the students to reading and to information literacy. a (Pett T, Mary K. Biagini Associate Professor and Director, School Library Certification Program ty sto ¢ Practicum Supervisor November 3, 2016